Lisa Dorrian: Headstone decision very difficult, says missing woman's family

Lisa Dorrian went missing from a County Down caravan park in February 2005

The sister of Lisa Dorrian, who went missing 19 years ago, has said a decision to add her sibling's name to her mother's headstone was "very difficult".

Ms Dorrian was last seen at a party at a caravan park in Ballyhalbert, County Down, when she was 25 in February 2005.

Police believe the Bangor woman was murdered.

No-one has ever been convicted and despite many land and sea searches her body has never been found.

A £20,000 reward has been offered by the charity Crimestoppers for information relating to Ms Dorrian's disappearance and murder.

Her mother Pat died in December 2015 aged 59 and is buried in Clandeboye Cemetery in Bangor.

'Not the end of Lisa's journey'

Speaking to BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster, Joanne Dorrian said the family wanted to do something to mark Ms Dorrian's 19th anniversary.

"We talked about it for a couple of years," she explained. "It's been a very difficult decision to make because as my dad says it feels very final to see it there on the stone.

"We know that this is not the end of our journey with Lisa because we haven't been able to find her and we haven't been able to get justice."

The Dorrian family added Lisa's name to their mother Pat's headstone in Clandeboye Cemetery

Joanne said the family was "torn" on whether to make the addition to the headstone before her sister was found.

"But after 19 years we thought, what if we don't find her? What if we don't, then we never have anything to mark her life on a headstone.

"We talked and talked about it, and I floated the idea again with the family at Christmas and said I really think it would be beautiful for the 19th anniversary to have that there with mum.

"I know my mum would be very proud of us for doing that so it's a very difficult decision, but I have to say we've found some sort of peace in doing it."

• Timeline: The disappearance of Lisa Dorrian

• Reward offered for information on 2005 murder

Despite almost two decades passing since Ms Dorrian's disappearance, Joanne said the family are still determined to see her returned.

"We grieve for Lisa every day but we can't get past that and never will because we haven't been afforded the right to say goodbye," she said.

"We are constantly constantly fighting the urge to feel like we are never going to find Lisa because we have to live with hope.

"That's what gets us through every day, our love for Lisa carries us through this."

Joanne Dorrian says the family live in hope that her sister will be found

Joanne also appealed directly to those who may know where Ms Dorrian is. "The person who knows where Lisa is, give it up," she said.

"It's been 19 years, nearly 20 years on, Lisa's sister was eight when this happened - she was a child and now she's a fully-grown woman.

"We have suffered this for almost two decades, our whole lives have been shaped by this. Just give it up and tell us where she is."